squad

1 a smallest army unit

2 a cooperative unit [syn: team]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɒd

Noun

1. a group of people organized for some common purpose, usually of about ten members.
2. a unit of tactical military personnel, or of police officers, usually of about ten members
3. a team, usually of about ten members.
4. a group of potential players from whom a team and twelfth man are chosen
5. The collective noun for a team of footballers

See also

Appendix:Collective nouns

In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer (NCO) that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition (Australian Army, Canadian Army, and others) this organization is referred to as a section. In most armies a squad consists of eight to fourteen soldiers, and may be further subdivided into fireteams.

Organization

United States

In the United States Army, a squad is composed of two fireteams of four or five soldiers each, as well as a squad leader who is a Staff Sergeant. In the United States Marine Corps, a squad is typically composed of three fireteams of four Marines and a squad leader who is a junior NCO.

Chinese National Revolutionary Army to 1949

The squad, 班, or section was the basic unit of the National Revolutionary Army, and would usually be 14 men strong. An infantry squad would ideally have 1 light machine gun and 10 rifles.

Leadership

A squad is led by an NCO known as a Squad Leader. His second in command is known as an Assistant Squad Leader. In Britain and the Commonwealth, these appointments are known as Section Commander and Section 2IC ("second in command"), respectively.

Typical ranks for squad leaders are:

• Australian Army: Corporal
• Brazilian Army: Sergeant or Corporal
• British Army: Corporal
• Canadian Army: Sergeant or Master Corporal
• Danish Army: Sergeant
• Finnish Army: Alikersantti or Kersantti (Corporal or Sergeant)
• German Army: Feldwebel or Oberfeldwebel (previously Unteroffizier)
• Israeli Defence Force: Sergeant (Samál) or Staff Sergeant (Samár)
• Spanish Army: Cabo 1º or Sargento
• Swedish Army: Korpral or Furir
• Swiss Army: Wachtmeister (before 2004: Korporal)
• US Army: Sergeant or Staff Sergeant
• US Marine Corps: Sergeant or Corporal

Other military uses

A squad can also be an ad hoc group of soldiers assigned to a task, for example, a firing squad.

In the Canadian Army, the term "squad" can actually refer to a portion of a drill movement. This is generally used when a group of soldiers is learning a new drill movement, as it is easier to learn step-by-step, rather than all at once.

See also

• Military science
• Squadron
• Death squad

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